Thought Leadership / What is flex?

06/11/2020

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For Landlords and asset owners, it’s more important than ever to explore the concept of flexible working spaces. The way people work has changed and businesses of all sizes are implementing alternative working strategies to accommodate greater flexibility and service requirements. That’s where Flex comes in. Business owners need their teams to operate like a well-oiled machine, which can’t be achieved if they are not entirely comfortable with their working environment. Businesses also find it difficult to provide teams with the working environment they need due to limitations regarding space, time and budget. That’s why it’s imperative that Landlord’s and asset owners investigate offering flex or space-as-a-service, so they can attract and retain tenants through workspace offerings that are catered to the needs of the business owner and their teams.

What do we mean by flex?

When we talk about flex or space-as-a-service, we’re not talking just coworking or shared spaces. Flex is office space that is move-in ready yet comes with flexibility around layout, terms, growth/shrink capabilities, and building services offered alongside enterprise-grade physical and digital security. Flexibility in this context represents a spectrum of products and services, from hotdesking and coworking to private offices and spec suites. Consequently, landlords are no longer limited to only provisioning real estate, they are more inclined to provide a greater spectrum of value-added services and amenities to their tenants.

Experts believe that 30% of office space is going to be flexible by the year 2030. Implementing flexible real estate products across a portfolio gives landlords the chance to revolutionise their proposition, better align to the needs of existing tenants, and attract and retain new ones. Flex also provides a huge number of benefits to individuals themselves that include food and beverages, amenities, health and wellness, security and sense of community engagement.

Flex delivers outstanding occupier experiences

As a landlord, getting flex right means delivering outstanding occupier experiences; to do this, it’s vital to focus on the four cornerstones of tenant satisfaction: engagement, amenity and space management, value-added occupier services, and IT and network infrastructure. If landlords address these cornerstones effectively, they’re on track to deliver an occupier experience with a competitive edge.

 

The benefits of flex to landlords

Not only does flex benefit occupiers and their staff, but it offers landlords a host of benefits too. Offering flex-space solutions helps to attract occupiers, reduce vacancy and sustain occupancy levels in an increasingly competitive market, (remember, only 3% of the current office market is flexible but occupier demand is increasing) whilst simultaneously making more money per square foot.

Want to find out more about delivering and managing flexible workspace across your portfolio? Read ‘A Landlord’s Guide to Opening a Flex Workspace’.